Anger builds against racism

CONTINUING TO show their outrage at the murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin and the failure of police to arrest his killer, George Zimmerman, thousands of people across the U.S. have taken to the streets over the past week to demand justice.

One of the largest and most moving demonstrations was in Sanford, Fla., where Trayvon's murder took place--as thousands of mostly Black protesters took to the streets chanting for justice.

But almost every day since news of his murder finally made the national news, there have been voices raised for Trayvon around the U.S.

In one of the largest protests outside Florida, more than 5,000 people turned out March 29 in Minneapolis, many wearing hooded sweatshirts and carrying Skittles and iced tea.

The call for the march was put out on Facebook by a 22-year-old student of Metro State University, Jenny Belsito, and was supported by the groups Community Action Against Racism, Communities United Against Police Brutality, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Neighborhoods Organizing for Change, Occupy Homes MN, Occupy the Hood Minneapolis, Protect MN and Torch Light MN, among others.

Like many others that have taken place across the country these last couple weeks, the Minneapolis rally was part of a campaign launched through social media sites called, "A Million Hoodies for Trayvon Martin."

In addition to hoodies, marchers donned hijabs and held signs that drew connection between the racist scapegoating of Muslims and Blacks in the U.S. Several signs linked the recent murder of Iraqi woman Shaima Alawadi in California to the case of Trayvon Martin, with one succinctly concluding, "Racism is racism."

Young children held signs that read, "Am I Next?" with pictures of Skittles and the words "I eat these, too."

Before the march law professor and civil rights attorney Nekima Levy-Pounds addressed the crowd, noting her fear for her own Black son--whose name is also Trayvon. "This is about justice for Trayvon and for every Black man in America," she said. "It is no longer safe and comfortable for a young African American male to walk down the street minding his own business without the threat of being taken out. The news has framed the Black man as a perpetual subject. It's time for us to stand for something so we don't fall for anything."

As Leroy Duncan, an organizer with Protect MN, said, "I am angry, but I'm so pleased. Pleased to see people coming out in droves to support this young man, in a story that has happened constantly over and over for centuries in this country."

On March 24, a diverse crowd of more than 400 people gathered to demand justice for Trayvon Martin in Greensboro, N.C. The day before, a local hip-hop station had organized a "Skittle Send-in" that drew hundreds to the downtown post-office.

Saturday's rally encouraged one woman, whose son was murdered by the Greensboro police two years ago, to renew the fight to win justice for him. Other speakers included a man brought to tears as he thought how he would feel if one of his sons went to the store for candy and never came home, a poet who imagined the terror of Trayvon's last moments, and a young girl who demanded to know why people thought it was okay to kill her because she is Black.

"It's lynching," said one woman. "They won't call it lynching, but that's what it is. They lynched Troy Davis, and they lynched Trayvon Martin."

Trayvon's murder also has spurred increased resistance to the new county jail that has been built downtown--at the cost of more than $115 million to city taxpayers--and is scheduled to open on April 12. A speaker at the rally stated, "Killing Black men and putting them in prison is two sides of the same coin," and was greeted by massive applause.

On March 25, Rochester, N.Y., held its own "Million Hoodie March" through downtown to the city's Federal Building. The entire distance to the Federal building, one single chant rang through the street: "We want justice!"

Some 1,500 people marched, including community leaders, labor unions and activists across the city. "Trayvon is our Emmett Till" said one speaker.

Residents of Rochester are far too familiar with the kind of racial profiling that led to the shooting of Trayvon Martin in Florida. "Stop-and-frisk" encounters and routine "pretext" traffic stops are a daily occurrence in certain neighborhoods of the inner city. In October, Hayden Blackman, a 43-year-old Black man was shot dead by a police officer in his home, after they were called for a domestic dispute. "Not all of our officers are assigned tasers," police later said to justify the killing.

"This is about Black people coming together. This is step, not just a moment," said Andrea Williams who attended the rally with her children.

On Wednesday, March 28, just three days after a rally and march of several thousand sponsored by the NAACP, a rally quickly organized on Facebook drew over 500 to Westlake Park in downtown Seattle.

In spite of nearly steady and sometimes heavy rain and cold, people stood their ground against the "Stand Your Ground" law and the racism of the criminal injustice system.

James Bible of the NAACP, stirred up the rally with a call to say "no more" to the racist treatment of African American men. He talked about his own experience with the police as well as other cases he has worked on in Seattle, and pointed out that the racism that infects the "justice" system is not confined to the South but is widespread in Seattle and the surrounding area. In fact, Washington state has a disproportionate number of African Americans in jails and prisons.

Some speakers stressed the class angle of Trayvon's murder, one saying that if he were wearing a polo shirt and kakis, he might not have drawn Zimmerman's attention. He went on to speak about the need for a struggle against class bias as well as racism.

Very few people left during the course of the three-hour rally. The NAACP has called for another rally and march aimed at bringing out 10,000 people on April 7 at 3:30 p.m. at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Seattle.

In Denver, also on March 26, some 1,000 protesters turned out for a march and rally at the state Capitol.

Speaker Terrance Roberts noted the harm that internalized racism does to communities. He said that when you internalize hatred you project it onto others, and that comes out in the form of violence.

In Oakland, Calif., 100 people gathered on March 26 at a rally called by the NAACP. There have been small rallies almost daily in the Bay Area.

Elected officials spoke, including Oakland Mayor Jean Quan who has faced criticism for attacking Occupy Oakland protesters and for a gang injunction law that provides an excuse for racial profiling. Several Oakland clergy also spoke. Although the NAACP cut off the speak-out after an hour, people in the crowd had many things to say about the case.

"One of the issues here is that lots of us here, we've just gone through the killing of Oscar Grant," said Alameda County resident Debora Fowler Jones. "How the authorities handled it didn't reflect justice. It was the same thing with Trayvon. He was murdered in cold blood, and no one was held accountable. I'm here today because I've had enough, enough of this unacceptable behavior."

In San Francisco, on the same day, 75 people turned out in front of the Hall of Justice to a "Scream out for Trayvon Martin" called by Poor Magazine, the Idriss Stelly Foundation and the United Playaz.

Emcee Tiny, aka Lisa Gray-Garcia, of Poor Magazine reminded the crowd that they were standing in front of "what we call the plantation system." Tiny read out a poem for Trayvon Martin that included the lines:

Trayvon is my son
and my brother and my uncle
and my coz-zin
and that aint no riddle
cuz i am /we r the village
and it aint about the pillage of
senseless killins n racist hate

Can u relate?

"All power to the people" exclaimed Bayview-Hunters Point filmmaker Kevin Epps as he greeted the crowd.

"We need Justice for Kenneth Harding," said Epps, reminding the crowd about the 19-year-old who was gunned down in San Francisco's Bayview neighborhood last July by police who were chasing him over a $2-train fare.

"Trayvon struck a chord in our community. He is shining a light on all of us" said Epps.

Halfway across the country, some 125 students at the University of Illinois and residents of Champaign-Urbana, Ill., also gathered on March 26 for a speak-out to demand justice for Trayvon Martin one month after his assassination.

The call for the speak-out was made by the local branch of the International Socialist Organization the previous day, after students returned from spring break and flyers were posted around campus just on Monday morning. Given the short notice, the high turnout was something that took most attendees by surprise.

Among chants like "Hoodies don't kill, racists do," "Sanford, Chicago, San Diego: Racist hate has got to go!" and "Skittles and hoodies are not the cause: Trayvon died from racist laws!" attendants took to the megaphone to speak out on their personal experiences of racism and discrimination.

A student related the discrimination she experienced on a usual basis for wearing a hijab, and she expressed her outrage for the recent hate crime that ended Shaima Alawadi's life in California, making the connection with Trayvon's case, because "they were both discriminated against and killed because of their race and their clothing."

More than one participant pointed out the similarities between Trayvon's case and that of Kiwane Carrington, an unarmed 15-year-old Black boy shot in the back and killed by a Champaign police officer in 2010, when he was trying to get into his own house.

All that happened afterward was a 30-day paid leave for the officer who shot Carrington dead.

One of the most militant speeches delivered to the crowd underlined, "In the 1960s, we won many victories. We won the right to sit at the front of the bus and to go to any school want, but the fight is not over. The struggle for Black liberation needs to continue today."

Hundreds of protesters in Houston rallied in solidarity with Trayvon Martin in at least four separate rallies over March 24-26.

On Monday afternoon, over 1,000 students at Texas Southern University, a historically Black college, rallied and, later in the day, hundreds of people assembled at Houston's historic SHAPE (Self Help for African People through Education) center for another rally.

The day before, hundreds marched on City Hall in a rally organized and attended by the Houston NAACP, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and the Harris County AFL CIO, among others. Democratic Mayor Annise Parker did not attend, nor did she send a representative.

Numerous actions have been held in Providence, R.I., demanding justice for Trayvon Martin.

Two rallies held at Central High School have seen people marching through the south side of town, with increasing numbers of students joining. On March 30, some 150 people marched, chanting "No justice, no peace" and "Justice for Trayvon" filling the streets.

The same day, nearly 100 students at the University of Rhode Island rallied on their campus as well. Hakeem Ottun, a civil engineering student, said, "I was not there that day and can't tell you exactly what happened, but what I do know is that a 17-year-old boy armed with nothing but a bag of Skittles and ice tea was shot and killed and nobody was put through the legal justice system."

On March 27, a crowd of 300 mostly young African Americans marched in Providence from Father Lennon Park to the Chad Brown Housing Development where a speak-out was conducted. People held signs reading, "We are all Trayvon Martin--racism kills."

Ray Watson of the Mount Hope Neighborhood Association, one of organizers of the event, spoke to the crowd with a call to action: "As we are on the march, think about what you are going to do about racism, what you are going to do about the prejudice, and what you are going to do about the fact Trayvon was murdered. Because we can't do it alone, but if we do it together, it can be done."